Sand Springs honored one of their own Tuesday as they dedicated a new public safety center.
The Billie A. Hall Public Safety Center is named for the Vietnam War hero and hometown son who died March 9, 1966.
"Wounded, dying and under enemy attack, Billie A. Hall offered medical aid to his fellow Americans as well as indigenous medics until his body could withstand no more," said Sand Springs Mayor Jim Spoon.
Sand Springs Police Chief Mike Carter said it’s an honor to have Hall’s name on the facility.
"We named this building for Billie Hall for one simple reason: He represents the virtues that we want to see in our police officers and our firefighters," Carter said.
The Billie A. Hall Public Safety Center will house the police and fire headquarters, the 911 center, emergency operations, and municipal court and jail. Fire Chief Mike Wood said the 40,000-square foot building gives them space they’ve never had before.
"It gives us the resources to do what we’ve tried to do down there in a quarter of a city block for 106 years. And we just outgrew that. We’ve got space down here now to not be out in an alley trying to train, to test hose, all the things that we have to do," Wood said.
The $10.7 million project is being paid for by Vision renewal sales tax funds.
Rail company OmniTrax sold the city 10 acres for the facility from the 146-acre site of an old steel mill it’s redeveloping near Highway 97 and Morrow Road.
